House passes legislation decriminalizing marijuana
ABC News
Congress has tried, unsuccessfully, to pass this type of legislation before to decriminalize marijuana.
The House of Representatives voted Friday to approve legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level and remove criminal penalties for certain cannabis-related offenses by a vote of 220-204.
Three Republicans -- Reps. Tom McClintock, Brian Mast and Matt Gaetz -- joined almost all Democrats in voting for the legislation.
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, known as the MORE Act, would remove marijuana from the controlled substances list, leaving it up to states to set their own laws. It would also release people incarcerated on cannabis-related offenses of less than 30 grams and expunge criminal penalties associated with those who manufacture, distribute and possess it.
The House also included two amendments to the bill that authorizes $10 million for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to study technologies for law enforcement officials to use in determining whether a driver is impaired by marijuana and a federal study on the impact of marijuana legalization in the workplace.
